St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-05-05


And as she spoke there came grea
shock and thrill, rumble and roar
and mighty burst of sound.
sfGreat mercy, miss ri cried Jane
'sit's the ice cracking and rending from
shore to shore. l never heard the like
before, many springs as I've lived be-
side it." and before she had done
speaking the sound came again-tht
sound of great guns, the trembling Of
an earthquake.
ssIt is an earthquake" said l. sIt
must be. But earthquakes up here
don't amount to anything"
"That's no earthquake" cried Jane
And then we sat there an hour OF
more, looking out on the river, and
listening to the sounds, and wonder
ing, and telling stories of earthquakes
and hardships and what not, curdline
our blood as we talked. And at last
Thomas came in; he had been down
the lane to the highway, and person
who had come from up country had
told him that the freshet was on the
river, and the high water had carried
away Ford's mills, dozen miles above
| us.
"But how can it do that 2" said |.
CHOW can there be freshet where it's
all ice Z"
"Just because it is all ice, miss,
said Thomas. "The streams are full
up country, and the frozen river down
here is giving the water no outlet.
Half the country between here and
there'll be afloat before morning.
And then came the dull roar and rum
BILE, the shock, the thrill, the explosion
once more.
"Why, this is terrible" said l. at
seems as if elemental things were at
work as if the earth was splitting and
opening" And while we waited and
shivered, as one after another of the
great explosions came, the door open
ed so quickly as to make US start, and
Mrs. Sawyer ran in, her face as white
as ashes.
ga messenger has just gone gallop-
ing by" she gasped. "My husband
met him. He says the dam at the falls
has been carried away, and the Mayor
of Fallstown has sent word by him to
the Mayor of HarbOrbar to look out for
his bridges"
:'And the explosions" said Bryan,
joining us, for we were all looking out
now, in the late twilight, at the long
glass door opening on the river, above
which u purpling mist was hung, Sis
the Fallstown people trying to break
up the ice below them with dynamite.
| guess we are in for it,"
" don't know what we are going to
do" cried Mrs. Sawyer. "Of course
the moment the ice breaks up and goes
sweeping down it will make for the
first outlet, and that is on these low
grass Understanding in here on the
very first low shore along the whole
course of the river. 1t is terrifying.
If it were only daylight | wouldn't
mind it SO much. We could see our
way. We could see what was coming.
We should know where we were and
what to do. But in the dark You
had better come over to our house,
Nan, and whatever we do we will all
do together. Merciful powers what
was that 2"
1t was only the wind coming up
that strong, sweet south wind. 1t had
broken "a Dough from the old elm that
had fallen on the house, and at the
same moment the last explosion of the
dynamite sounded. But it was enough.
Mrs. Sawyer's words were ringing in
my ears. In the dark, all at once |
thought | could see the torrent of
broken ice, the great blocks and sheets
of pointed, jagged ice, lifting them
selves into one huge wall, and sweep
ing round the bend and up the land,
pushed by the mighty swelling of the
tide behind - mounting, grinding,
sweeping across all this low inteIEal,
over which it would crash and pour
and flow, to find the river at a point
below and reach the sea. The rush of
the great black cold waters was al
ready upon me, the sound of them in
my ears, the blowing of the wide dark
water breath. | felt myself Il helpless
staw before them. | did not wait an
instant. | never thought of the 9th
ers. / was not conscious of any thought
at all but screamed, and turned and
dashed out of the house and down the
lane, as fast, as breathlessly, as | could
race, through the mire and slush, and
up the narrow road into the wood,
feeling still that chill water breath
blowing on me, hearing the terrible
sound of the rasping, piling, tumbling,
roaring ice, and | never stopped till |
fell painting and breathless and faint
ing at somebody's feet, with the warm
breath of great stag-hound in my
face, and was being lifted in some
body's arms, and saw, when [ opened
my eyes, by the light of the young yell
low moon through the wood, that it
was Mark, and he was kissing me with
a kiss us long as the space that had
us. "Oh, Mark Mark ~
cried, ''save me! save me The freshet
is coming; it is close upon us we are
all drowning! Take me up to your
house, to your dear old high house,
and don't let<ne ever leave it. Oh,
Mark, | lived you all the time! Take
NE home. Don't let me go again.
Forgive me love me. don't see how
you can love. | don't see how you can
owe anybody so wilful and vixenish
md selfish and hateful; but oh you
must"
81 am taking you hOme," said he, as
soon as he had ii chance. "DO you
suppose | will let you go again |
shall have to forgive you. What else
S there for me to do? L heard about
he freshet. L was just on my way to
you. We will have the minister up
his very evening, if we can get him,
Ind you shall never SO much as go out
If my arms again"
And he did. And here l am, per- :
ectly happy in this fortress, this prs-
IN on a rock, this dungeon-sO happy
hat have not yet been able to bring
ny shocked nerves to the pass even
# going down again to the grass lands,
where Mark goes down and manages
for me.
And the freshet? Oh, to be sure
Why, you see, that south wind shifted
o easterly, and it froze again that .
light. And when it melted, it melted
o gently that the ice went out of the